For the 2009 season SEABL welcomes the Dandenong Rangers and the Sandringham Sabres to the competition. In 2008 each of these teams played in the Big V competition but chose to move to SEABL this year. Warren Dawson, coach of Dandenong, and Vince Crivelli, coach of Sandringham, shared their thoughts on the shift.

 

For Warren and Vince the decision to move from the Big V to SEABL came from analysing these general questions. Where is the association going? What goals drive our association and in what direction? Where is the best competition? Where can we find the best development for our junior players? Warren and Vince agreed a large part of their decisions had been shaped by what they saw as a responsibility to their junior programs.

 

Little separated Dandenong and Sandringham in the answers to the first three questions. Each association has traditionally developed grassroots basketball through domestic clubs and had the goal of maintaining a strong junior program. For senior women’s and senior men’s teams, SEABL offered a consistently strong competition.

 

This left junior development. Each program has won junior championships and national titles, and placed players on state teams. Each association has a history of utilising SEABL players to conduct clinics and to coach juniors. With coaching roles in their junior programs, Warren and Vince then asked: what happens to our juniors when they finish u/20’s? Some players go to America to play basketball at university; but that option is not for everyone. As well, most players, however, are not ready for SEABL after u/20’s.

 

In order to keep players interested in and involved in basketball, Warren and Vince saw the need for a pathway from junior to senior basketball. SEABL’s development league provides an ideal pathway. The development league gives talented young players a high level of competition without their having to go to the USA or consider another sport.

 

This year Warren said Dandenong will have 3 or 4 players who will be playing in the development league and suiting up in SEABL. Vince believes Sandringham will be likely to have players doing the same thing. Of course, injuries and availability of senior players might mean more young players have an early introduction to SEABL basketball.

 

The two agreed that SEABL’s commitment to player development played a significant role in their decisions